Believing is Seeing
A photo of a rainbow that I took in Sedona, Arizona, USA.
Many people want their lives to change, but what they don’t understand is that what seems real is not real. They want to believe that a more positive outcome is possible, but it seems impossible. The negatives in life can seem like facts. Life can seem like “that’s just the way that it is.” But that doesn’t have to be the case. There is another way.
Things are not true because they are true, but because you believe that they are.
Seeing something doesn’t make it real; believing it does. Have you ever noticed that people can be very committed to their opinions despite the facts clearly showing the opposite?
We all do the same thing in our own lives. We assume that there is only one way things can be, and therefore, we do not even consider the other options. There are different options, but we don’t even bother to look for them.
A Simple Example
Recently, we moved. I bought a bunch of heavy-duty black storage totes and a label maker. We packed everything, and when our moving date arrived, the move went easily and quickly.
I was discussing it with someone, and they were really impressed with how easy the move was. They were impressed particularly with the idea of the storage totes because they stack well, are large enough to hold a lot of items, even fairly large ones, are durable, and are easy for movers to transport. Plus, they are relatively inexpensive. They had never considered packing stuff in anything other than cardboard boxes that they collected from friends, bought from the store, and found lying around the house. And, by the way, I didn’t spend a lot on those totes in the end, because overall the move was easier and not expensive.
Acknowledge Your Negative Feelings
This is not a post about how great storage totes are. Instead, the question is, why were storage totes obvious to me, and not to them? The answer is beliefs. I believed that moving could be effortless. Packing in cardboard boxes and other random containers didn’t feel easy to me. I allowed myself to acknowledge that the idea of moving seemed stressful. This allowed me to be conscious of my negative beliefs, and then look for a new positive belief that moving could be easy. Simply by acknowledging the negative belief and allowing myself to see a positive, I was able to see ways that moving could be easy.
How Do We Believe in a Positive Outcome?
When we think about our lives, we may notice that there are negative things in our lives. We do want to believe the opposite. We want to see things and situations as good. The reason that we do not, and the reason that we feel a particular way, is because of our beliefs. All feelings are based upon beliefs. So if we can be honest with ourselves about feeling bad, we can simply ask, “What must I believe to be feeling this way?” Then we can identify our negative beliefs. We can find the beliefs that hold us back. We can find how we are holding ourselves back.
We are accustomed to seeing things through these negative beliefs. It is easy to see things from that perspective. It is easy to see how they are true. It is easy to see them as the only reasonable truth.
We Are Sparks of All That Is
As individuals, we are sparks of light of all that is. This is not some airy-fairy way of seeing things. This is the actual physics behind how our lives are created. Even more specifically, our lives are created by our beliefs. If you apply a filter to an image, it will look different. Our beliefs are like that. They are the filters on our reality. If you want to see things differently, put on a different filter.
How to See
This is not just nice-sounding words. There is a procedure to do this.
Identify what you want to believe.
Look for evidence that supports your belief.
An Example
First, in my case, I realized that the idea of moving sounded stressful. I started with a negative belief. Being aware of that, I wanted to see the opposite, that moving could be easy.
Second, I then made a list of how moving could be easy and how it would feel (feelings help attract related thoughts and actions):
I can pack early
Ease
Relaxed
I can buy storage totes
I can get movers
Even though movers would cost money, with storage totes, the hourly rate will be much less.
The other family members will be more inspired to pack and pack in a way that is consistent with everyone else.
I can buy a labeler.
Excited
Remember
Decide what you want to believe. Then focus on how that could be true. If it doesn’t happen at first, be open-minded and allow the answers to come. Simply be conscious of the idea that you want to see how it is true.
